Even though Abhishek Chaubey's Sonchiriya opened to positive reviews, the box office collection of the Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer has paled before that of Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon's Luka Chuppi.

The Laxman Utekar-directed romantic comedy earned Rs 18.09 crore over two days, to the dacoit drama's paltry figure of Rs 2.70 crore. In what can be seen as an indicator of Aaryan's rising popularity, Luka Chuppi garnered Rs 8.01 crore on Friday, thus becoming the actor's biggest opener.

Trade expert Girish Wankhede says the numbers are a sign that Aaryan has come into his own.

"Kartik enjoys a strong fan base among collegians and school kids, who have flocked to theatres to watch him. Earlier, producers would be wary of releasing their films during the exam period. But the timing hasn't affected the box office fate of Luka Chuppi," he notes.

Having delivered successful films like Ishqiya (2009) and Udta Punjab (2016) in the past, director Chaubey offered yet another gritty tale in Sonchiriya

However, trade guru Amod Mehra points out, "The dialect used in Sonchiriya has worked against it as the audience is struggling to follow the dialogues. The film may not be able to sustain in the long run. Today, the audience wants to be entertained and that's what Luka Chuppi does."